Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 69
चिन्तयामास राजेंद्र स्मृत्वावस्थां पितुश्च ताम् । किं करोमि क्व गच्छामि कथं मे स्यात्पितुर्गतिः
cintayāmāsa rājeṃdra smṛtvāvasthāṃ pituśca tām | kiṃ karomi kva gacchāmi kathaṃ me syātpiturgatiḥ
Se remémorant l’état de son père, le roi s’interrogea : «Que dois-je faire ? Où dois-je aller ? Comment mon père pourra-t-il obtenir une destinée juste et bienheureuse dans l’au-delà ?»
Sūta (narration)
Scene: The king alone in contemplation, hands to forehead or holding a rosary, visualized with a faint apparition/memory of his father’s suffering condition behind him; crossroads ahead symbolize choices of pilgrimage.
FAQs
True kingship includes concern for ancestral welfare; dharma begins with sincere inquiry into right action (kartavya).
A specific tīrtha is not named in this verse; it frames the motive that leads the king toward a sacred-place solution in the māhātmya.
No direct rite is prescribed here; the verse expresses the intention to seek means for the father’s gati (posthumous welfare).